wfn.org | Duke seminarians share Ness history award

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

June 21, 2001 News media contact: Joretta Purdue ·(202) 546-8722·Washington
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By United Methodist News Service

Two Duke Divinity School students are sharing an award for essays in history
related to Methodism.

The John H. Ness Memorial Awards are given annually to seminarians by the
denomination's Commission on Archives and History, which has offices at Drew
University in Madison, N.J.

Co-winners of the prize this year are Sarah Johnson of Seattle and Matthew
R. Schlimm of Kalamazoo, Mich. 

Johnson's essay, "In That Place Where Things Hoped For Are Seen: The
Function of the Intermediate State in John Wesley's Theology," deals with
Wesley's beliefs about what occurs between death and final judgment and the
creation of a new heaven and a new earth.

Schlimm wrote on "The Puzzle of Perfection: Growth in Wesley's Doctrine of
Perfection." The paper explores Wesley's writing on spiritual growth that
occurs after a person has experienced perfection, which to Wesley meant the
person had become aware of God's love.

Johnson has just completed the first year of a two-year course leading to
the master of theological studies degree. Schlimm, a 1998 graduate of Asbury
College, expects to complete his degree program at Duke in 2002. 

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United Methodist News Service
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